SAN JOSE -- Nearly 90 firefighters from seven agencies battled a Saturday morning warehouse fire that critically injured one person, destroyed three buildings and took nearly 12 hours to control, the San Jose Fire Department reported.

The injured man, whom firefighters found on the property on South Seventh Street near Alma Avenue, was transported to a local hospital. His identity and condition were not immediately released.

About 3:30 a.m., fire crews responding to another call for medical aid noticed smoke coming from a commercial and industrial area south of Spartan Stadium, fire Capt. Cleo Doss said.

Responding crews could not immediately locate the source of the smoke, which turned out to be on property on South Seventh. The fire engulfed three of four buildings, one housing a pallet company, and crews called for reinforcement. Wooden pallets both inside and outside the building were on fire, Doss said.

Firefighters from Mountain View, Palo Alto, Milpitas, Santa Clara as well as the county of Santa Clara aided San Jose firefighters in combatting the blaze, Doss said. South Seventh and South 10th between Alma and Phelan avenues were closed to traffic. South Seventh remained closed Saturday afternoon as crews mopped up and investigated the fire.

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Even after dousing most of the fire, firefighters were not able to get to hot spots and the source of the fire inside the metal building, because of fears that the heat-weakened metal could collapse, Doss said. They called in backhoes and earth movers to move burned pallets and pull down some of the building to allow in firefighters and arson investigators.

Crews brought the fire under control shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday. The cause remains under investigation, Doss said.

Late Friday night, a smaller fire at a duplex on East San Fernando Street near South King Road injured five people, some of them children. Four people were sent to area hospitals for smoke inhalation, San Jose fire Capt. Mike Van Elgort said.

A passer-by reported the fire at 11:20 p.m., and firefighters controlled the fire just before midnight. The fire, which caused moderate to severe damage to one apartment, and moderate damage to the adjacent unit, appears to have started accidentally, Elgort said.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report. Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775. Follow her on Twitter at @noguchionk12.

Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775. Follow her on Twitter at @noguchionk12.